Chikezirim “Chike” Nwoke is a newly appointed postdoctoral research associate in international and public affairs at the Watson School’s Africa Initiative.
An anthropologist from Nigeria, Nwoke’s research focuses on how young people in West Africa are negotiating economic and technological change. He came to the Watson School after earning a Ph.D. in anthropology with a specialization in political economy from Carleton University in 2025. He holds master’s degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and a bachelor’s from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He was previously a visiting research fellow with the Africa Initiative in 2023.
Nwoke’s doctoral thesis, “If not for my Hustling Spirit: Youth Apprenticeships and the Complexity of Empowerment in Southeast Nigeria,” examined how the traditional apprenticeship system of the Igbo people of Nigeria is under stress, and how alternative forms of apprenticeship, including those organized around online scamming, are on the rise.
Nwoke explained, “The apprenticeship system, in which a young person attaches themself to an older craftsman or established trader, has been around for centuries.”
During the apprenticeship, which can last between five and eight years, the apprentice lives with and works — without pay — for their mentor. At the end of the apprenticeship, the mentor is expected to set the apprentice up with a business of their own, known in that context as “settlement.” “That,” said Nwoke, “is the form of payment for the labor they have benefited from. It’s a mode of distribution, skills transfer, and knowledge sharing within the community.”
While this system worked relatively well in the past, and still does in many cases, Nwoke noted that it is currently under pressure from several external factors. “It’s under pressure from neoliberalism, inflation, shifting youth perceptions of success and weakening traditional community ties,” he said.
In the past, noted Nwoke, “If after an apprentice worked for you, and you didn’t settle them, there was a form of punishment — you would be shunned by the community. But today, apprentices are not as protected as they used to be.”
Today, many mentors express frustration that today’s youth lack the patience and resilience necessary for successful apprenticeships, unlike previous generations. At the same time, young people are concerned about investing years of hard work without any guaranteed outcomes, especially given the absence of formal contracts or assurances.
“This system always had its pitfalls,” said Nwoke, “but it worked. However, there is a lot of pressure today. And young people are disincentivized from participating in this system because it takes such a long time before you can stand on your own.”
To better understand the breakdown of the traditional apprenticeship system, Nwoke spent ten months conducting ethnographic fieldwork in the market city of Onitsha, Nigeria, where he became an apprentice in a cosmetics shop. “I wanted to better understand how the youth feel,” he said.
The circumstances Nwoke observed have led to what he called an “adjacent system”: a scamming apprenticeship system. Cyberfraud apprenticeships are a burgeoning alternative increasingly pursued by youth disillusioned with traditional trade apprenticeships.
Many people in the U.S. are familiar with digital scams originating in Nigeria and other countries, with the plight of victims featured in the news and documentaries. However, they are only dimly aware of the cultural, political and economic circumstances driving the phenomenon on the other side of the equation. That is a major focus of Nwoke’s research.
Cyberfraud apprenticeships, said Nwoke, look somewhat like long-standing apprenticeship models. “You have to stay with a mentor for a few years. They give you a laptop and a phone. They give you data. And they teach you how to do romance scams, investment scams or hacking,” he said.
“Many young people leave the traditional apprenticeship system, only to undergo more heartbreak and disappointment in scamming apprenticeships,” said Nwoke. While some go in voluntarily, others are trafficked and forced to work for the scam bosses under the threat of harm to themselves or their families. “Apprentices only eat one time a day, or once every other day, because they believe hunger motivates people to work harder.”
The system is rife with exploitation. Apprentices are given drugs to keep them awake for long hours, while others are sexually trafficked. But Nwoke pointed out that, “This is happening within the context of high youth unemployment, governmental corruption and economic exclusion.” Due to the limited opportunities available to them, many young people perceive this exploitation as an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice for a better life in the future.
During his research, Nwoke interviewed dozens of young apprentices, including scammers. “The closer I got to the youth,” he said, “I saw that they were incredibly anxious. Everyone deserves a good life, and many of us will do what is necessary to provide for our families if the weight falls on us. What I learned was that corruption and immorality are not as simple as it seems,” he said.
“Many of the young people doing scamming are good men,” he said. “They are good men in their communities, good men to their families. Some of them use the money they earn from scams to pay for their siblings’ schooling. Many of them sacrifice a lot for other people.”
Along with their disillusionment with the traditional apprenticeship system, Nwoke observed a sense of cynicism setting in among young people. “They compare themselves to corrupt Nigerian politicians,” he said. “They ask, ‘Why should I go to jail when politicians are stealing much more money?’” Others made reference to colonial extraction and exploitation. “Some justified scamming as a form of reparations or payback against the West,” said Nwoke.
